A 28-year-old man identified as Godspower Emeka, who is currently in police custody in Abia State, has confessed that he sold his niece for N150,000 to raise money for his extended family’s upkeep.

Emeke, a motorcyclist and father of three, said feeding his children and other members of his family had become burdensome to him and his father.

He told Southern City News that he reasoned that it would not be a bad idea if he sold one of the children in their family to raise money to feed others.

Emeka said, “I’m a (commercial) motorcyclist from Umuokroukwu Omoba. The little girl is my niece and my elder sister is her mother. It started when one of my friends told me that he knew one barren old woman who wanted to buy a child.

“I then said since we are many, why can’t l give out one of our children to raise money to take care of the family? I thought the idea would reduce the load of feeding in our family on my head because we are 11 in number.

“I’m married with three children, while my sister has four children. But she is not aware that I wanted to sell her daughter. I’m begging everybody to forgive me; it was a temptation that came my way. I have not done this before”.

But Emeka’s accomplice in the crime; one Kelvin Ogbuigwu, said he (Emeka) contacted him to get a buyer of the three year-old girl.

He said, “Emeka told me that he has a sister, who is his father’s bastard daughter. He said his father was late and they could longer take care of the girl. He asked me if I had contact of someone that would adopt the girl and I told him that I had a contact.

“I contacted one Mr. Kekere in Omuma, Rivers State. Later, I took him to meet the man last week Sunday with the girl. Unfortunately, the woman, who was supposed to come and pick the girl at the sum of N150,000 couldn’t come that day. Then in the night, the police operatives came and recovered the baby.”

It was gathered that trouble started last Saturday when Emeka’s sister left her daughter in the care of one of her neighbours, Mrs. Oscar Angela, while travelling.

Angela said Emeka came to her and claimed that his elder brother sent him to bring the girl to his house before she released her ( the girl) to him.

Angela said, “The girl is my neighbor’s child; when her mother was travelling on Saturday, last week, she left the girl under my care.

“She said she would come back on Monday, I accepted and took the girl to my house. But as soon as she left, her younger brother (Emeka) came and asked me to hand over the little girl to him.

“He claimed that their eldest brother sent him to bring the girl and I released the girl for him. But later that same day, they came back to my house to ask of the girl. I told them Emeka had taken the girl to his brother’s house.

“But they said it was not true and insisted that the girl was in my house. It was then that I started shouting and my other neighbours advised me to report the matter to the police. That was how I ran to Obehie Police Station to report the incident and they started the search for the girl immediately and rescued her at Omuma.”

The Abia State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Adeleye Oyebade, confirmed the arrest of the suspect and the rescue of the girl.

Oyebade explained that the command had intensified efforts towards arresting the suspected buyer of the girl, adding that suspects in police custody will be arraigned in court soon..Punch